Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall
Eat your fish supper the River Cottage way - with a beer coat
Watch the video of the River Cottage team making beer-battered pollack
Serves 4
Hugh says: "If you have time to salt the fish lightly before you begin this recipe, it will firm up the flesh and season it nicely. However, salting isn't essential, especially with very fresh fish. Scatter a teaspoon or so of coarse sea salt in the base of a wide, shallow plastic or ceramic dish (don't use metal, which can react with the salt). Place the fillets, skin-side down, on top and dust them with another 1-2 tsp coarse salt. Leave for 5-10 minutes in the fridge, depending on the thickness of the fillets, then rinse the fillets thoroughly and pat dry with kitchen paper."
1. To make the tartare sauce, just combine all the ingredients. Season with black pepper and salt if necessary (the capers and gherkins are already quite salty).
2. To make the batter, sieve the flour into a bowl - or put it into a bowl and whisk it to aerate it. Add 2 tbsp oil then start adding the beer, whisking all the time. Keep adding beer until you have a batter with the consistency of thick emulsion paint. Continue beating well to get rid of any lumps, then season generously. Leave to rest for 30 minutes.
3. Pour the oil for deep-frying into a large, deep, heavy-based pan (or a deep fat fryer) and heat until it reaches 160°C (when a cube of bread dropped into the oil will turn golden brown in 1-2 minutes).
4. Make sure the fillets are completely dry by patting them with kitchen paper. Dip a fillet into the batter so it is completely covered. Suspend it briefly over the bowl so the excess batter drips off, then lower carefully into the hot oil. Fry for 4-5 minutes, turning the fillet over if necessary, until golden brown and crisp. Scoop out with a 'spider' or slotted spoon and drain briefly on kitchen paper. Eat straight away, with the sauce.
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